Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Bourbon

Really enjoyed this one! Nick’s contribution to the July 4th campout at McCormick’s Creek. Sweet on the nose, and the usual carmel, vanilla, burnt sugar on the palate. Nice finish as well. Worth having around at all times!

Strong tobacco smoke and maraschino cherries.

Kind of harsh at first, okay with ice

Nose: chocolate covered berries and honey - very enticing Palate: starts off with some caramel and vanilla with some spice and grains flowing through towards the back - ok, bit of a let down from the nose Finish: nice slow burn with a good amount of oak spice, but then turns into licorice and black pepper at the very end - not a fan Overall: may have to revisit, had heard such good things about this pour, but in the end it is not quite to my liking

Ok time for something I’ve never done before: a second review of a bourbon I’ve already reviewed! And why would I do this you ask? I don’t know if my palate has changed or this bourbon has changed or both, but this is tasting very very different from my initial review from years ago. (I’ve heard WT often blends older whiskies into their batch products as needed to use up aging stock so maybe that’s what’s going on here) Keeping the things from my initial review which still apply and altering what no longer applies. On the nose, I am getting vanilla bean, nutmeg, buttered toast, barrel char, and a hint of pine. Light ethanol riding underneath. Palate opens with caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, and cinnamon bun but it quickly morphs into a leather/tobacco flavor in the mid-palate with the caramel turning into flan. Some oak makes itself known as well. Finishes with some rich sweet oak, a bloom of baking spices, white pepper, a hint of mint, and a sour note (Green apple? Kiwi?) which brings complexity and mellows out what might otherwise be spice overkill. After the initial tastes fade, you are left with a cake batter note which is nice. There's heat there, but it's all barrel spices so it is in no way a mouth scorcher. Finish is nice and long with noticeable warming. Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy. So in my initial review I couldn’t get over the mintyness of this whiskey (again, could be me) but that is long gone in this version which lets the more desirable elements really shine. NOW I see what everyone raves about, and I am so glad I gave this one another shot. At $60 this now falls into “steal” territory. No wonder it’s now vanishing from store shelves as quickly as it lands in my area. What once was a 3.5 is now a 4.25. Highly recommend.